To Hell with Infinity
by AnnaFiore
Summary: After several centuries of ruling the dead in Helheim, Hela Lokisdottír has become quite bored. However, when she is "visited" by Phil Coulson and receives a special assignment from Lady Death, her usually dreary life is thrown upside down.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

The souls walked past her like a flock of sheep. Devoid of all feelings, wishes, dreams and hopes they slowly came trotting through the entrance of Helheim. Some were angry about their fate, others in disbelief, but most did not seem to care anymore. Once every so often a soul would try to escape. Some tried to weasel their way out of their sentence. Other claimed that, because they "didn't sign up for this", they should be allowed to walk free. All without success, for Hela Lokisdottír reigned without compassion.

She reigned without any feeling, really. Hela had simply stopped caring after those centuries she'd spend here. There was no joy in Helheim, since the rays of the sun never found their way down here. It was perpetually cold and foggy, which made her want to curl up in a ball and sleep, forever. But as one of Lady Death's servants she was supposed to carry out her task. "No happiness for Hela", she though miserably.

Hela looked at the group of souls entering the realm. Over the centuries she had learned to distinguish them. There were rapists and killers, but there were also old men, young children and women. All souls who did not die a heroic death, and as such were refused entrance to Valhalla, came here. At least, those who were assigned to her. Hades and Anubis took care of the Greek and Egyptian souls respectively, and there were many others who reaped the souls in service of Lady Death.

So right after surveying the poor souls allotted to her Hela went about sorting them to the different levels of Helheim. The upper levels, with green meadows, warm fireplaces and vast forests were for the children, the old men and women telling their tales and souls who died without much ado. The lower levels however were for the criminals, where the air was so thick you could hardly see your hands when you stretched them out in front of you and where every breath felt like inhaling eternal darkness was a path only cut out for the lucky few. In tonight's bunch there were a few who had done bad deeds in their life, but hardly more than stealing a TV (Yes, she knew what a TV was. She'd picked up a thing or two from the dead). So she 'sentenced' the whole bunch of them to the meadows. She didn't really bother about them.

Standing beside the throne, her two servants shifted nervously. Ganglati, her guard, standing on the left, and Ganglöt, her maidservant, standing on the right. The fighter and nourisher, keeper and safeguard, brother and sister, bound to serve her for all eternity. They exchanged a look behind her back.

With a barely audible whisper Ganglati spoke up. "Mistress, would it not have been bett…" But Hela cut him off. "The decision has been made". Ganglati bowed his head and remained silent.

Another group arrived, but this one was different. First of all the entire group was dressed in battle-gear. Hela had often wondered what the mortals were thinking by putting on these light-weight pieces of armour, but hey, they would wind up with her anyhow. Heading the group was a man of medium height wearing a black suit, an earpiece (that's what they called it, right?) and had a massive wound in the middle of his chest. He walked straight up to her, without waiting for the other souls, and with a half-smile stated his intentions.

"Hello. I must have been send here by mistake. Please show me to the nearest exit."

Hela sighed. She had at least a few of those every week. Occasionally they were genuine warriors who somehow had missed the shiny bright portals of Valhalla, but often they were souls in denial, just like this one.

"If you came here it means that you are dead, Mr…?"

"Coulson," the man replied. "Phil Coulson".

"Allright, Mr. Coulson," Hela continued. She pointed to the souls behind him. "See them? They are dead. So are you. Now tell me about your life so that I can allocate you…"

"You don't understand," Phil Coulson cut her off. Hela started getting angry now. The souls around him felt the change in atmosphere and shifted around nervously, but Phil Coulson didn't seem to notice.

"My people need me up there," he continued, still carrying the same half-smile, "and so I need to get back" he said matter-of-factly.

Hela couldn't suppress a smile. Somehow she respected the bravery of this mortal. He wasn't afraid, he didn't plead for his life or shout in the loudest of voices how sorry he was or how little he deserved this. He just spoke to her as if he already knew that it was going to happen, which made her curious about what he expected to get back to.

"Back to what?" she asked. "My job" he answered. Hela had met workaholics before, but usually they were more desperate.

"And what is it that you do, Phil Coulson?" to which his smile broadened slightly. "That's classified."

Hela chuckled. "At the end, everything is revealed, Phil Coulson. This is your end, now reveal why you came here." She added more authority to her voice, making the souls more restless. But Phil Coulson simply shook his head.

"Until it's been determined that this is not a threat and you are a cooperative entity, I am not at liberty to share this information."

Hela rose from her seat. The temperature in the hall, which had already been well below zero, dropped several more degrees. The air became thicker and darker, causing the already scared souls to moan and huddle together. She rose to her full size, about ten feet, and took a step forward.

"I can assure you, Phil Coulson," she spoke in a dark low voice, "that whether I am a threat to you depends entirely upon your cooperation. I am not one to be trifled with".

Ganglati and Ganglöt cowered beside her throne, the other souls shrank even further and some of tried to run back towards the entrance, but Phil Coulson simply stood there. Fortunately, his smile had gone.

"Okay" he spoke and Hela shrank back to her usual size. She sat back on her throne, Ganglati and Ganglöt stopped shivering and a handful of her ghostly attendants drove the other souls back in line. Several were still shaking and crying, but they would stop soon enough.

Phil Coulson looked at her for a second. "Am I correct in assuming that this is one of the realms of the dead?" Hela nodded. "Judging from the decoration" he glimpsed around her hall a few times, "and the attire of your companions" he nudged to Ganglöt and Ganglati, "I would say that this is Helheim, correct?". Hela gave him one of her rare smiles. Most mortals were unaware of this fact, some even calling it 'Hell', but maybe he, what was it called again? Oh yes, maybe he happened to have _Wikipedia'd it_ before he died. If the others had been as polite Hela might have actually enjoyed her job.

"Then, as its ruler, you must be Hela Lokisdottír". Hela gruntled. She didn't hate her name, but she hated being associated with that poor excuse of a jötunn that was the God of Mischief. Several memories which she had hidden away for years suddenly sprang up, but Hela ignored them for the moment.

"Correct" she answered and Phil Coulson nodded. "Before I was… came here… I was trying to stop your father, Loki Laufeyson, from stirring up trouble. As you see," he pointed to the gaping hole in his chest, "I was unsuccessful. Now I need to get back to Earth to stop him from wreaking havoc."

Hela contemplated his words for a moment. She hadn't heard from her father since she had been "assigned" to Helheim. This wasn't much of a surprise, since Helheim was the last place any living person would want to go. Still, it was interesting to hear of his plans. Again the memories came up, this time accompanied with a sense of sadness, but she managed to shake it off.

"What has he done?" she asked and Phil Coulson explained. "He appeared with an army of Chitauri to take over New York. He stabbed me in the chest whilst I tried to stop him".

Hela was surprised when she heard Phil Coulson mention the Chitauri. Over the past century she had encountered them several times, though always in association with massive destruction and a name that was so frightening most souls didn't dare speak it: Thanos. But what did this Mad Titan have to do with the conquering of Midgard?

Her murmuring was however cut short by Phil Coulson, who went on to explain how he, together with his team, had managed to capture her father. Loki, however, managed to escape, killing Phil Coulson in the process.

"You will, no doubt, understand that it is vital that I return to Midgard to stop Loki".

Hela took a moment to consider his words. By sending him back, she would break all the rules there were and risk being reprimanded, perhaps even terminated, by her mistress, Lady Death. On the other hand, the involvement of the Chitauri meant that this was not simply the whim of a deluded Prince of Asgard, but more likely the machinations of a master strategic. Should the fight ever come to her, which seemed likely, it would be good to have a powerful ally on her side. Hela only hoped Phil Coulson's team was as powerful as he claimed them to be.

"Phil Coulson," she addressed him.

"Ma'am."

"I considered your plea, and I will allow you to travel back to Midgard". Even though he smiled only slightly, Hela could see a glint of satisfaction.

"However, there is one condition. Seeing that, technically speaking, saved your life you… How do you mortals call it? Oh yes, _you owe me_." Phil Coulson's expression didn't change.

"I take it that you are a high-placed man in your organization?"

Phil Coulson nodded.

"Then you will assure me, that on pain of immediate return to Helheim, you will aid me when I set foot on Midgard."

Phil Coulson seemed to consider this. Then he nodded. "Okay, so be it".

Hela grinned widely.

"I understand that the custom in Midgard is to shake one another's hand when a deal is struck, but you'll have to forgive me for not doing so." Phil Coulson looked at her intriguingly, but Hela decided it would be better to keep him in the dark just a bit longer. Anyway he'd find out soon enough should trouble come find her.

"Now, off with you. We will meet soon". Phil Coulson, even though he didn't seem to look forward to that prospect, nodded to her, said "Ma'am" and followed one of the ghouls out of the door, past a bunch of ghosts looking at him in awe. Hela sighed. She should have waited until she was done. Now these fools would surely request the same treatment.

Meanwhile, Ganglöt and Ganglati eyed each other. Hela knew that they disapproved of her actions and were too afraid to speak out against her, but the staring and fidgeting was getting on her nerves.

Hela sighed. The bunch of souls had quieted down and looked at her hopefully, but Hela gestured to one of the ghouls to take them away. They were a harmless bunch, hardly worth paying attention to, and Hela needed to think. She stood up, left the hall and retreated to her chambers.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey all, thanks for reading this story! This is my first fanfic and I hope you like it! The story I created is based mostly on mythology and the Marvel movies, because I haven't read the comics. I've tried to include details from both, but in the end it became more of a medley than an actual ode to either the movies or mythology.

As you can tell, this story starts in the first Avenger's movie, right after Coulson gets stabbed by Loki in the chest. This point in the story just seemed like a good place to start with my fanfic. From this point on it's basically my take on the movies.

Hope you enjoy! Feel free to send me some feedback on what you think of the story.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Time passed, though due to the eternal darkness it was hard to tell when a day had passed. Because time means very little to those who have run out of it, months were more like weeks and days felt like hours. Hela herself had even lost track of how many ages she had been here. Midgard and Asgard kept turning and moving forward, but to those who dwelled below in Helheim things continued at a steady pace. Every so often Hela remembered the man who had come to Midgard, but the continuous stream of dead souls entering her realm took up all of her attention.

After several time had passed Hela had a moment to herself and her thoughts again wandered back to that day when the Son of Coul had entered her realm. There was something about it that wasn't right. First of all, what was her father thinking? What in the Nine Realms had possessed him to try and take over Midgard, a realm filled with one of the most unruly peoples in the galaxy? Helheim was full with warriors from the many wars fought on that realm. If they did not even agree on their own rulers, what made her father think that they would want to be ruled by him?

Suddenly Hela stopped. Maybe it had something to do with the Chitauri. Even though she had never personally seen the destruction they had brought to the galaxy, she had heard plenty of stories from those who did. Several of her colleagues had told her about the carnage they were responsible for.

Not much was known about them, though they were often mentioned together with another: Thanos. They seemed to act as his personal army and whenever havoc was wreaked on a realm and Thanos was said to be responsible, it were the Chitauri who had led the attack. But if the Chitauri were allied to Thanos, why did they support her father?

Then it dawned on her: It wasn't just the Chitauri who supported her father, it was Thanos. It was he who had licensed her father's attack on Midgard and had given him the aid to do it. But why? Why would Thanos, one of the most powerful creatures in the entire universe, support the delusions of the once-King of Asgard? Yes, Hela had heard of her father's attempt to gain the throne. A delegation of frost giants had informed her of his coup and subsequent betrayal. She had even heard of her uncle's adventures on Midgard. It took her a while before she had understood what the mortals had meant by a "flying space alien", but as soon as they mentioned that he had a "thunder hammer" she knew it could only be Thor. Hela rubbed her head. All these questions were giving her a headache. "What in the Nine Realms is going on?" she muttered.

Suddenly a ghoul appeared in front of her, waiting for her to address it. This had completely freaked her out in the beginning, but she had gotten used to their blunt demeanor. The dead didn't need to be nice or friendly so they just appeared in front of you whenever something needed to be done. However, because Hela was the Queen they were not allowed to speak first and subsequently floated around until she addressed them.

"Yes?"

"My Queen, there is a messenger here waiting for you" the ghoul spoke and pointed to Eljuthnir, her main hall. Hela felt as if the ground dropped beneath her feet and she couldn't breathe. She knew that letting Phil Coulson return to the mortal world was a mistake and that her mistress would surely punish her for it. Nothing escaped Lady Death, but could it really be that she had noticed so quickly? Even though Hela was used to the coldness of her palace, she started shivering.

The ghoul still floated around, waiting for his queen's response, but waved him away and walked towards her throne in the middle of the large, formal hall. Whilst trying to contain her shivering she nodded to one of the ghouls on the side and a maiden appeared in front of her. Rather than Hílde, the girl who usually delivered Lady Death's messages, a strange-looking young woman appeared in front of her. Even though her face was hidden behind a large black hood, her skin seemed to be as blue as the sky on a summer's day. Hela had learned that some humans turned blue after asphyxiation, but this color seemed unnatural. Perhaps she was of an alien species that Hela had not encountered until now.

"Greetings, Hela Lokisdottír", said the maiden and bowed slightly. Hela, too nervous to be offended by the greeting, returned the gesture.

"Greetings. What brings you to Helheim?" Hela spoke, wondering whence the girl had come. For a moment she hoped that the girl was here for another purpose, but then she realized bitterly that the only messengers she had received in her realm had come from her mistress. Immediately, as if she had read Hela's thoughts, the maiden produced a silver pendant in the shape of three triangles connected to each other. Hela recognized the _Valknut_ , the knot of the slain, a Scandinavian symbol for the transition between life and death. Lady Death gave each of her servants a piece of jewelry with such a symbol, as a way to recognize each other as well as a reminder that they were under her servitude. Instinctively Hela's hands reached to an onyx ring on her left index finger adorned with the same symbol.

"I come from our mistress" the maiden confirmed and Hela felt her muscles tense. "Lady Death has an assignment for you" the maiden spoke and Hela felt a shiver creep over her spine. Every so often Lady Death required her minions to reap a soul of special importance. These were often the most miserable, most despicable souls in existence, and because Lady Death had a specific purpose for them Hela was required to deliver them directly to the Realm of Death. Normally she would revel being able to leave Helheim, but the joy of the outside world was short-lived compared to the horrors that presented themselves in the Realm of Death. Most often she just walked through it with her eyes closed.

The maiden gave her a wicked grin. "Lady Death personally requested it be you for this assignment, Queen Hela," she said and Hela eyed her curiously. "She asks you to collect the soul of Odin Borson".

Hela felt as if she had been punched in the gut. Odin Borson, Allfather of the Gods, Ruler of Asgard, and technically speaking her grandfather. Something must be afoot, because this was a serious assignment.

Hela, feeling nauseous, stepped down from her throne and waved the maiden away. She needed more time to think about this. With fast strides she walked back into her chambers.

Back in her room Hela collapsed in a chair. Breathing heavily, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The last time she had seen her grandfather, or rather anyone in her family, was on the day she left Asgard. Tears formed in her eyes. Well, left… She hadn't exactly packed her things and taken off.

When she was twelve years old the Norns, three female goddesses who could foresee the fate of Gods and Men, had decreed that Hela and her brothers Jörmungardr and Fenrir, coerced by their father, would start Ragnarök. So the Allfather, in all his wisdom, decided that the best way to prevent this was to cast them out.

Her father had protested, had fought and threatened to destroy Asgard, but to no avail. The guards had taken her and her brothers whilst they were sleeping and before Hela had fully realized what was going on she was falling all the way down the Bifröst to Helheim, whilst Jörmungardr was thrown in the seas of Midgard and the guards chained Fenrir down in the darkest part of Asgard's prison.

The only thing she remembered were the screams of her mother, pleading with Odin to show mercy to her children. But he didn't. So here she was, passing judgment over the dead. Good luck, have fun, enjoy yourself amongst the dead and don't stir up any trouble.

In the beginning she had been consumed by wrath and anger. Though this softened over the years, her hatred of the Allfather had not diminished. She could feel all the anger and bitterness pass through her still as she thought of how unfair it all had been. How she had been separated from her family and how none of them had ever been allowed to visit her.

It took Hela a few moments to swallow her anger. She had more pressing matters to attend to. There were so many questions. First of all, why had Lady Death given this assignment to Hela? As a rule, assignments concerning friends or family members of a reaper were, without exception, carried out by others. Now, it could be argued that because of her father's adoption Odin was not _really_ her family, but that was not how it felt to Hela. Tears started forming in her eyes as she thought back of the afternoons when she and her brothers used to play with their grandfather and grandmother in the Gardens of Asgard. No… Lady Death was aware of Hela's feelings towards the Allfather. So how come this assignment had passed to Hela?

Secondly, the fact that Lady Death had given her this assignment meant that the Allfather's time had run out. Even though Asgardians had a much longer lifespan than most races they were not immortal. But her grandfather had not looked so old. Hela cracked a smile. Of course… He had not looked so old when she was just a little girl. But those days had been centuries ago, so who knew what he looked like now? Also she didn't know how Odin was and if the rumors of the Odinsleep were true then perhaps the Allfather really was ready to go.

Suddenly Hela sat up. There was someone who could tell her more.

She snapped her fingers and a ghoul appeared. "Bring me Queen Frigga" she spoke and the ghoul vanished in smoke, appearing a few seconds later with the requested soul. Hela had heard of the attack on Asgard and how it had claimed the life of her grandmother, but her anger and bitterness made it impossible for her to attend. So she had sent a bunch of reapers to collect the souls and pardoned them all to the higher levels of Helheim.

A knot started to form in Hela's chest. She still wasn't ready to see her grandmother. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath, sat up straight and faced Frigga. But her breath was caught and she felt the knot in her chest tighten when she saw how pale, hollow and empty her grandmother had become.

"Hello, my dear", Frigga spoke and Hela tried to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat.

"It has been a long time" Frigga smiled at her, bringing back some of the warmth Hela remembered from her childhood. Part of her wanted to run forward into Frigga's arms, just like she used to do, but she was able to resist it and wiped away her tears.

"Indeed", Hela replied. She took a minute to look at the shade that had once been her grandmother. "Death does not become you, Queen Frigga".

Frigga's smile disappeared. "I didn't bring you here for sentiment," Hela continued. She averted her gaze, it was too painful to look at her grandmother. "The attack on Asgard, what happened?"

Her grandmother took a moment to compose herself and took a deep breath. "It starts with your uncle" she spoke and Hela had to stop herself from rolling with her eyes. Most problems started that way, it seemed.

"Several moons ago he fell in love with a mortal," Frigga continued. "Her name is Jane Foster. She's a… Oh, what do they call it? Oh yes, a scientist".

Hela frowned. Her uncle's love-life was not one of her interests and she made no effort whatsoever to be kept up to date. But the last thing she had heard was that her uncle was interested in some female warrior named Lady Sif.

"Jane had discovered something, a substance called the Aether". Upon hearing this Hela swiftly turned towards her grandmother. Over the centuries she had heard plenty of rumors of a force capable of enhancing one's strength. Her father had often mentioned it to her and her brothers and he had taken many trips outside their home to try and find it.

"Yes, child." Frigga affirmed. "The same Aether your father tried to find for so long". For decades her father had practically turned the galaxy upside down in his quest to find it, but always returned empty-handed. Hela was intrigued about how a simple mortal could possibly discover such a dangerous substance, but she gestured Frigga to continue her story.

"Unfortunately, by discovering the Aether, Jane simultaneously awakened one of the Svartalfs, or Dark Elves, who had his heart set on revenge against those who did him wrong. He fancied himself the owner of the Aether and was keen on retrieving it." Hela leaned in closer. This story was getting more interesting by the minute.

"Upon hearing that Jane Foster was infected Thor took her with him to Asgard. We tried to save her from the foul substance, but we did not know how. However, by then the Svartalf had discovered us. He stormed into Asgard and broke into our chambers. I was quick enough to hide Jane and tried to fight him off. But I was overpowered and…" A tear fell from her cheek, "I was killed". Hela nodded that she understood, death often came as a terrible blow.

That mortal… Jane… She must have been _very_ important for her grandmother to want to protect her like that. Hela's anger, which had stayed silent for some time now, started to come up again. Her grandmother, who had loved her with all her heart, killed for one of her uncle's playthings… Perhaps her grandfather wasn't the only one in need of a visit. Her grandfather! Hela suddenly remembered why she had brought Frigga here in the first place. "Grandmother," she spoke softly and Frigga looked at her, "how is Grandfather?"

Frigga gave her a sad smile. "He is not as he used to be, my dear. The years of war and turmoil have taken a toll on him. He needs the Odinsleep now more than ever." This didn't surprise Hela. If she had kept count correctly (time is a little tricky in a realm where all things are dead and still) it would now be several centuries since she had last seen her grandfather. Could it be that his time was near?

However, . "The Allfather's time is slipping, but make no mistake my dear: He is still as sprightly as ever".

Hela nodded, she had expected as such. She stood up and took another look at her grandmother. Frigga had a vacant look in her eye. Death had already taken a hold of her. Soon, Frigga would slowly fade away until she was nothing more but a memory. Though it pained Hela, the best thing to do was to send Frigga back, for it would hurt too much to see her slowly decline, bit by bit. She walked over to her grandmother, gave her a kiss on her forehead and looked her in the eye one last time. Then she nodded to the ghouls and her grandmother disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Immediately after the headache returned. Hela slumped into a chair and rubbed her head. This hadn't helped her a damn thing. If anything it had made her more tired.

Also her grandmother had only made things more confusing. Because, if the Allfather was still as sprightly as Frigga had claimed, then why would Lady Death send for him? Hela sighed. There was definitely something going on in the galaxy and whatever it was, it did not look good. Her father had always spoken of his intentions to rule and Hela knew that he would never have been able to rule on his own, but she had never expected him to gain the help from such a hostile entity as Thanos.

Also, she was rather surprised that her father tried to conquer Midgard. She had always heard him speak of the magnitude of the Asgardian Throne. Compared to the wealth and power of Asgard, Midgard looked rather bleak. Its people were continuously warring with one another, its wealth was slowly fading and they were far behind on inter-galactic communication.

No, if Hela had to choose, she would pick Asgard. But this was because it gave Hela an added boon. Apart from its regular population, Asgard and its hall Valhalla were home to those who died in battle, named the Einherjar. All those who died in battle in one of the Nine Realms were allowed to enter through its gates. That is to say: All those who were lucky enough to have a sword in their hand the moment their soul left their bodies were allowed to enter into Valhalla.

This had always bugged Hela. What good was a Realm of the Dead if not all of the dead actually went there? Well, this was because Asgard was a peaceful nation and initially didn't train any warriors themselves. But the warning of the Norns, which spoke of the destruction of Asgard at the hand of evil forces changed this idea. Faced with the prospect of a defenseless Asgard the Allfather decided that all those who had been brave enough to face their opponents and die fighting would be welcome in Valhalla. Here they would feast, drink and eat, but most importantly battle one another in preparation for the day it was attacked during Ragnarök.

Attacked, Hela thought bitterly, by her "evil" forces and those of her brothers and father. That's why Odin had always withheld the power of Valhalla from her. If she would gain control over the legions of warriors, then nothing would stand in her way of destroying Asgard.

Hela's bitterness started to grow. She had just been an innocent, little girl. Why had they chosen her? It wasn't as if she _wanted_ to destroy the world. She had nothing but fond memories of growing up in Asgard. As a matter of fact, she had often cried bitter tears about the loss of her youth.

Banished, cast away, thrown out... Solely based on the words of three so-called _soothsayers_. What did they know about it? The only thing they did was lounge around the World Tree, Yggdrasil, and drink water from a magic well. They didn't have to see the destruction that they had foretold. And still everyone considered them to be sweet, beautiful maidens.

In the meantime, Hela had tried to live by the rules all her life. Did all the things she had been ordered to do. But what good had it brought her? She was stuck in this dark pit, not allowed to go out except on "special occasions" and had not seen a living soul in centuries. No… Doing good deeds hadn't helped her a damn thing. So perhaps it was time to start breaking some rules. If it's a villain they need, they can damn well get one.

"Ganglati, Ganglöt," Hela whispered and the siblings silently appeared. "Prepare my armour, we are going to Asgard".

On a distant planet, far away from the reach of Yggdrasil and the gaze of Heimdall, a young woman appeared in the middle of the forest. She was clad in a long, black robe with a large hood pulled over her head to obscure her face, which she immediately drew back.

"Phew… Glad to be away from the Hell-hole". Laughing about her own joke, the young woman took off the coat and dropped it on the floor, next to the bound body of a young girl, a bag of weapons casually thrown over her. The woman walked over to the bag, picked it up and slung it over her shoulder. It wasn't until then that she noticed the girl lying on the ground, who was looking at her with a frightened expression.

"Oh don't look at me like that, you know it was nothing personal". The girl didn't seem comforted by it, but the woman didn't seem to care. She picked up the cloak and threw it over the girl.

"There, now you won't be disturbed. Have fun for the rest of time!"

The girl, even more scared, started screaming, but unfortunately her captor had made a wise choice in this uninhabited planet. The woman, walking away without looking back, started laughing and then disappeared.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone, just a few things for your understanding. I did some research online and found that the Valknut is a Norse symbol often associated with Death, so I decided to use it. Also the ring Hela wears is made of onyx, which is a black stone which in Greek means either "claw" or "fingernail", which seems like a creepy description fitting for someone who monitors the dead.

Also, the timing in the chapter is a bit tricky. In the beginning it mentions that "time has passed", but I haven't specified how long. This is because I later realized that there is about one-and-a-half year between the events of The Avengers and Thor: Dark World, and so needed to find a way to bridge the gap. It is a bit lame, I admit, but it was the best I could do without having to edit this chapter and possibly remove the Frigga part. I really wanted to keep that in because I felt it illustrated how torn Hela feels about her family.

Lastly, I hope you recognize the woman who delivers the message to Hela. If not, no worries! She'll be revealed in due course.


End file.
